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Sarah was beyond relieved, clasping her hands against her chest.
“Jesus Christ,” she muttered.
“Who’s that?” Suki asked innocently, then hopped down off the sturdy bush.
“No one you know about. Christ, I really couldn’t find you!”
Suki covered her mouth with both hands, laughing hysterically.
“There he is again! ‘Christ.’ You will have to tell me all about that.”
Sarah laughed with her, then took the girl by the hand. She wasn’t going to lose her again and be responsible for causing havoc so soon in her stay.
“How about lunch in the garden? You can tell me which ones you use for the mush salad.”
Suki led them out of the maze with ease, which was also rather relieving. Sarah got a blanket from inside while Allan brought them out a late lunch … sandwiches with unrecognizable grains, with what looked like slices of juicy beets in the middle. They sat together between multicolored orchids and honeysuckles that were similar looking to a folded origami crane.
“I wanted to give you something,” Suki said once they finished eating.
“Oh?”
“You said you didn’t know a lot about our customs,” Suki said softly as she reached into the pocket of her jumper. “There’s one that every household has participated in since the beginning of our time, one that shows a visitor that they are welcome.”
Suki rolled something around in her hand and then held it out to Sarah. It shined from the center of her palm, winking in the brilliance of the day.
At first, it looked like a marble or something with an oval shape that was primarily transparent. But then the light bent to it, cascading through it like a prism to showcase extraordinarily fine crystalline detail.
“My God, Suki,” Sarah murmured, genuinely shocked and moved. “What is this? It’s stunning.”
“It’s a fire stone,” Suki said. “It’s one of the rarest crystals found on our planet. But every household has one, passed down from generation to generation.”
Suki then took Sarah’s hand, flipped it over, and placed the stone into her palm. Up close, Sarah could see varying shades of red … scarlet, crimson, vermillion, coral … that ran through its glass-like orb like an exquisite thread. It looked sacred, and Sarah wondered if Suki had any right to be handing it over to the likes of her human nanny.
“Suki, I can’t…”
“No!” Suki yelled, pinning her hands behind her back. “It’s also not customary to refuse a welcome stone. So you have to accept it. You must.”
One of Suki’s top teeth was crooked, hanging over her bottom lip like her father’s. It made her sweeter.
Sarah smiled and held the stone to her heart.
“Thank you, Suki. I hope you know how much this means to me. I will cherish this forever.”
“I know you will.”
Suki crashed into Sarah’s arms, nearly knocking her onto her back. They both giggled as the stone pressed against Sarah’s chest.
She knew the decision to leave Earth would leave a mark on her. But what Sarah didn’t realize yet was how indelibly deep it would be.
NINE
KAEL
Kael was beyond exhausted after returning from his covert mission. It wasn’t a particularly difficult one, pertaining to the security of the next council meeting, but after the performance Aric put on, the Commander’s skepticism was beginning to feel like more than a moderate inconvenience.
Kael had known the King since he was a boy. Kael was rather troublesome and disturbed back then, having grown up without discipline, but the King had set him straight. It was why he was the first choice as Commander and would likely be until his time in existence was over.
Aric, though, was a thorn in his side. He had always been rather troublesome as well, except there seemed to be no end to his irksome behavior. He seemed to delight in his cruelty and manipulation, whereas Kael’s was a product of neglect.
